Flowline installation apparatus



Jan. 2, 1968 J, HAEBER ET AL 3,361,199

FLOWLINE INSTALLATION APPARATUS Filed Sept. 30. 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet- 1INVENTORS: FIG. I, v JOHN A. HAEBER WILLIAM F. MILLER JOSEPH H. HYNES.JAMES w. E. HANES BY; I I,

' THEIR ATTORNEY Jan. 2, 1968 J. A, HAEBER ET AL 3,361,199

' FLOWLINE INSTALLATION APPARATUS Filed Sept. 30. 1965 l m 6Sheets-Sheet 2 124 I23 no us' n2 39 1 In H 4 'V lzs 3:1, us

H O r /l|o H3 A/ |ll\// 7 F42 FIG; 3 Y

FIG. 2

INVENTORS'.

JOHN A. HAEB'ER WILLIAM F: MILLER JOSEPH H. HYNES JAMES w s. HANES ITHEIR ATTORNEY JanQZ, 1968 H ETAT. "3,361,199

FLOWLINE I NSTALLATION APPARATUS Filed Sept. 30. 1965 -6 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTORSI'.

' JOHN A. HA EBER WILLJAM" F. MILLER Y-JOSEPH "H. Y HYNES JAMES w. -E.HANES THEIR ATTORNEY Jan. 2, 1968 J. A. HAEBER ET L 3,361,199

' FLOWLINE INSTALLATION APPARATUS I Filed Sept. 30, 1965 v I '6Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS:

JOHNI-A. HAEBER WILLIAM F. MILLER JOSEPH H. HYNES 56 I JAMES w. E. HANESFIG. 6

THEIR ATTORNEY Jan. 2, 1968 Filed Sept. 50, 1965 J. A. HAEBER ET ALFLOWLINE INSTALLATION APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I NVENTORS'.

JOHN A. HAEBER WILLIAM F. MILLER JOSEPH H. .HYNES JAMESW. E. HANES BY:

THEIR ATTORNEY Jan. 2, 1968 J.'A, HAEBER ET AL 3,361,199

FLOWLINE INSTALLATION APPARATUS Filed Sept. 30, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 6INVENTORS:

JOHN A. HAEBER WILLIAM F. MILLER JOSEPH H. HYNES JAMES w. E. HANES BY:

TH El R ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,361,199 FLOWLINE INSTALLATIONAPPARATUS John A. Haeber, William F. Miller, Joseph H. lllynes, and.liames W. E. Hanes, Ventura, (Ialif, assignars to Shell Oil Company,New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 30, 1965, Ser. No.491,764 7 Claims. (Cl. 166-.5)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for remotely installing aflowline in an underwater facility in which an alignment device (forexample, a tube having a flared mouth) serves to align a flowline pulledinto it by a flexible drawline extending through the alignment device.The drawline is attached to an end of the flowline by means of areleasable housing carried by the flowline so that once the flowline ispulled in place in the alignment device, the drawline and housing areautomatically disconnected from the flowline.

The present invention relates to oil well equipment for use atunderwater locations and pertains more particularly to apparatus forremotely coupling a conduit to an installation submerged within a bodyof water. The invention is specifically directed toward flowlineinstallation apparatus which is adapted to reieasably engage a flowlinefor positioning the latter in an alignment tube associated with anunderwater facility, such as a well-head or production platform.

For many years offshore wells have been drilled either from stationaryplatforms anchored to the ocean floor, movable barges temporarilypositioned on the ocean floor, or movable barges floating on the body ofwater in which drilling operations are being conducted. Regardless ofthe manner in which the wells are drilled, most wells have beencompleted in a manner such that the outermost tubular member of the wellextends upwardly from the ocean floor to a point above the surface ofthe body of water where a wellhead assembly or Christmas tree is mountedfor controlling the production of the Well.

Wellheads extending above the surface of a body of water have thedisadvantage that they constitute a hazard to navigation in the vicinityof the well. In addition, when such wellheads are positioned in saltwater, such as found in the ocean, the structure extending above thewater is subect to the corrosive action of salt water and air.Positioning the wellhead and/or casiughead above the surface of the bodyof Water has the advantage, however, that the flow-handling andcontrolling components of the wellhead may be readily secured theretoand adjusted by an operator working from a platform adjacent to thewellhead structure.

Recently, methods and apparatus have been developed for drilling andcompleting oil and gas wells in the ocean floor in a manner such thatafter completion of the well the wellhead assembly is positioned beneaththe surface of the ocean, preferably on the floor thereof. In practice,these wellhead assemblies are often positioned in depths of watergreater than the depth at which a diver can safely and readily work.Thus, the coupling of flow conduits to such wellhead assemblies presentsa new and difficult operation which is not readily carried out bypresently available well-working equipment.

The problem of securing flowlines to installations submerged in verydeep bodies of water is particularly acute because of the high ambientpressures involved and the difiiculty of handling long lengths of piperemotely. This problem is accomanied by the natural problems that areencountered when lowering flowlines to the bottom of relatively deepbodies of water. The high ambient pressure generally makes the use offlexible connection facilitating conduits impractical, since suchconduits are very expensive and relatively rigid when fabricated towithstand the high pressures encountered. The use of flexible conduitsis also often obectionable, since such conduits do not generallyfacilitate the passage of pumpable through-the-fiowline toolstherethrough. The latter characteristic is particularly detrimental,since pumpable through-the-flowline tools provide one of the mostpractical solutions to the workover problems encountered in submergedwells. Long lengths of pipe are difficult to handle when submergeddeeply in a body of water both because of the mass of pipe involved andthe remoteness of the handling operation. It is noted that it isparticularly difficult to lower long lengths of pipe directly intocommunication with a deeply submerged underwater installation because ofthe exact length of pipe required to reach the installation isimpossible, as a practical matter, to determine.

It is, accordingly, a principal obect of this invention to provideapparatus for remotely connecting a flowline to an installationsubmerged in a deep body of water while overcoming the aforediscusseddifliculties. The objects of the invention are accomplished by providingthe installation with a special alignment means, such as a tube, andextending a drawline or cable through this alignment means. Theprovision of the alignment means and the extending of the drawlinetherethrough may be accomplished either before or after the installationis submerged.

In a preferred embodiment, after the installation is provided with thealignment tube, one end of the drawline extending therethrough issecured to the flowline, by means of the installation apparatus of thepresent invention, and tension is applied to the other end of thedrawline. The flowline is thereby drawn into the alignment tube andthereafter the installation apparatus is automatically released frominside the flowline for recovery at the surface. In the case where theflowline is fabricated from a relatively rigid steel, the flowline maybe plastically deformed as it is pulled through the alignment tube. Uponbeing pulled through the alignment tube, the flowline is securedconcentrically in the upper end thereof. With the flowline head thusaccurately positioned in a predetermined vertical position at theunderwater installation the actual fluid communication between theinstallation and the flowline may be established in any suitable manner,such as by the use of jumper tubes as shown in the US. Patent to Dozierand Johnson, No. 3,298,092, issued Jan. 17, 1967.

In a broad aspect, the apparatus of the present invention may be definedas a system to facilitate the remote joining of a flowline to aninstallation. submerged in a body of water from a station located on thesurface thereof. The apparatus comprises at least one guide elementfixed to the installation and a guide line extending between the elementand the station located on the surface of the body of water. Included asan essential element of the apparatus is an alignment means forreceiving and accurately aligning the flowline. A guide line receivingmeans, such as a tubular sleeve, is operatively associated with thealignment means and adapted to slide along the guide line and intoengagement with the guide element. The alignment means is also providedwith a mechanism to secure it to the installation and with a flexibledrawline extending therethrough to pull a flowline thereto. To completethe basic apparatus, the flexible drawline is provided on one end with aspecially constructed installation tool adapted to engage the flow- 3line head and to disengage therefrom after the flowline has been pulledto the proper position at the alignment means.

The invention and the specifics thereof will be more fully understoodfrom the following detailed description when taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an underwater installationwith the alignment tube of the present invention in the process of beinginstalled thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a simplified side elevation, partly in section, illustratinga drawline pulling tool positioned inside the upper end of the alignmenttube;

FIGURE 3 is a detailed elevation, partially in longitudinal section, ofa preferred form of the drawline pulling tool;

FIGURE 4 is a simplified side elevation, partially in section,illustrating a flowline installation tool after a flowline has beenpulled inside the alignment tube of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section illustrating a preferred form of dart foractuating a flowline locking mechanism formed in the upper end of thealignment tube of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a detailed side elevation, partially in section,illustrating a flowline accurately positioned and locked inside theupper end of the alignment tube of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical section of a preferred form of dart used todisengage the mechanism used to lower the alignment tube down to theunderwater installation of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged side elevation, partially in section, of theflowline installation tool;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged perspective view of the upper portion of theinternal sleeve used in the installation tool of FIGURE 8; and

FIGURE 10 is a schematic view illustrating the underwater installationof FIGURE 1 after the flowline has been accurately positioned in apredetermined adjacent position with respect thereto.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, there is illustrated an exemplaryapplication of the invention in use in a body of water 11. In order tofacilitate the application of the invention, an operating station takingthe form of a barge 12 is illustrated as floating on the surface of thewater 11 in a position approximately above a preselected underwaterinstallation. The barge 12 may be of known construction and includes asuitable derrick 13 having a well 14 thereunder communicating with thebody of water 11. The derrick 13 is equipped with fall lines 15 and ahoist 16 for operating a traveling block 17 to which are securedelevators 18 or other suit-able means for suspending a running string 19during underwater completion or workover operations.

A wellhead support structure, which is represented by a horizontallyextending support base 22, having a wellhead or production platformassembly 23 secured thereto and centrally positioned thereon, isillustrated as being anchored to the ocean floor by means of a conductorpipe or surface casing 24 which is installed and preferably cemented inthe ocean floor 25. Secured to the support base 22 are two or more guidecolumns 26 and 27 having guide cables 28 and 29 extending verticallytherefrom to the floating barge 12 where they are preferably secured tothe barge by means of constant-tension winches 32 and 33. The guidecables 28 and 29 are provided for the purpose of guiding pieces ofequipment from the barge 12 into alignment onto or adjacent to thewellhead 23 positioned on the ocean floor 25.

In the lower portion of FIGURE 1, the running string 19 is shown fixedlysecured to a guide frame 35 which is provided with guide tubes 36 whichslide upon the guide cables 28 and 29. Preferably, each of the guidetubes 36 has a cone-shaped downwardly flared flange 37 attached orintegrally formed on its lower end which serves to accurately align theguide tubes 36 as they move downwardly onto the guide posts 26 and 27.If desirable, the guide frame 35 may be provided with an auxiliaryrunning string 38 to lend stability and added control during thelowering operation. Attached to the lower-most end of the running string19 is a running string latching tool 39 having latching dogs 42 adaptedto engage the enlarged head 43 of a curved horn or alignment tube 44,which horn is being lowered into position adjacent the wellhead 23 forreceiving and accurately positioning an underwater flowline with respectto said wellhead. The tube 44 is also preferably provided with a flaredmouth portion 45.

A horn-receiving block 46 is attached to the wellhead 23 and supportedby the support base 22. In order to securely lock the horn 44 to theblock 46 there is provided a locking plunger 47 attached to the horn 44by an arm 48 and having dogs 49 operable to hold the locking member 47,and consequently the horn 44, against upward movement once the member 47has passed through a cylindrical opening 52 formed in the receivingblock 46. As will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, thedogs 49 on locking plunger 47 are normally spring biased outwardly butmay be moved inwardly by hydraulic pressure applied through the tubingline 53 which is provided with a conventional breakaway coupling 54.

FIGURE 1 additionally shows a flowline lay barge 55 provided with asupply of flowline 56 which is to be drawn into the curved horn 44 andaccurately aligned and locked within the horn head 43 after the horn hasbeen lowered and locked in position on the receiving block 46.

The operation of lowering the curved horn or alignment tube 44 onto thereceiving block 46 located on the underwater wellhead or productionfacility 23, whereby a section of flowline may subsequently be drawn offthe lay barge 55 and pulled inside said curved horn 44, commences on thesurface of the body of Water 11 with the attachment, by welding or othersuitable coupling means, of the running string 19 to the guide frame 35.At this time, the running string latching tool 39 is secured to thelowermost end of the running string 19 by any suitable means such as bya threadable means 60 (see FIG- URE 6).

As best shown in FIGURE 6, the running string latching tool 39 comprisesa main body member 61 which is provided with a hollow bore 62 which runslengthwise through the center of body members 61 and is in communicationwith the interior of the tubular running string 19. The main body member61 is provided with a series of ports 63, 64, 65 and 66 extendingtransversely therethrough, preferably inclined to the tool axis, andcommunicating with the central bore 62. An internally protrudingcircumferential landing surface 69 is formed in the hollow bore 62,between the ports 64 and 65, and is adapted to receive various darts orplugs for selectively channeling fluid pressure to the various ports6366 as will be described, infra.

An annular stop ring 67 is threadably or otherwise secured on the outersurface of the upper end of the main body member 61. The lowermost endof the stop ring 67 terminates in a flat seat 68 at a location justabove the external orifice of port 63. Just below the external orificeof port 64 the body member 61 is provided with an external shoulder '71having an outer diameter equal to the outer diameter of the stop ring67. A hollow cylindrical sleeve 72 is positioned about stop ring 67 andthe external surface of the shoulder 71 for sliding engagementtherewith. An internal piston means is formed at 73 by providing thesleeve 72 with an inwardly projecting annular flange. Thus, the sleeve72 is free to slide in the space 75 defined by the flat seat 68 of thestop ring 67 and the upper surface of the shoulder 71. O-ring sealingmembers 76, 77, 78 and 79 are provided to insure that the system isfiuidtight.

Threadably attached to the lower end of the main body member 61 of therunning string latching tool 39 is a housing member 83 whose lowermostend is provided with a stop shoulder 84 to limit the radial inwardtravel of the aforementioned latching dogs 42. Referring back to theupper stop ring 67, there is shown connected to the upper end thereof,as by means of a threaded fastener 85, an outer casing member 86 whichis provided at its lower end with an inwardly protruding support ring 87which supports the latching dogs 42 for transverse sliding movement.

As shown, the support ring 87 is provided with a stop shoulder 88similar to stop shoulder 84 to limit the inward travel of the latchingdogs 42. The lower end of the slidable sleeve 72 is slightly flared toprovide a chamfered actuating surface 91 which is adapted to cooperatewith mating chamfered outer surfaces on the dogs 42 so that downwardmovement of the sleeve 72 forces the dogs 42 to move radially inwardlyto lock an element such as the horn head 43, securely inside the runningstring latching tool 39. By selectively applying fluid pressure throughport 63 to the upper surface of internal piston means 73 formed on theslidable sleeve 72, the latter will move downwardly and the chamferedactuating surface 91 formed on the lower end thereof will cam thelatching dogs 42 into locking engagement with the horn head 43.Conversely, by selectively channeling fluid through port 64 to the lowersurface of piston means 73, the sleeve will move upwardly, allowing thelatching dogs 42 to disen gage the horn head 43.

The lower end of the main body member 61 of the running string latchingtool 39 comprises a reduced outer diameter portion 93 which cooperateswith the housing member 83 to form an annular space 94. An inwardlyprotruding annular shoulder 95 is formed on the housing 83 in such amanner that it sealingly abuts the outer side of the reduced diameterportion 93 at its lower end to close off the lower end of thecylindrical space 94. A ringshaped piston member 97 is provided in thespace 94 in such a manner that it may slide vertically. A plurality ofdownwardly extending piston rods .98 are provided at various locationsabout the circumference of the ringshaped piston 97. The piston rods 98extend slidingly through sealed bores 99 formed in the shoulder 95. Asecond ring-shaped abutment element 100 is suitably attached to thelower end of the piston rods 98. Thus, it will be understood, that whenfluid pressure is selectively applied to the upper surface of piston 97through the port 65, the piston 97 and ring 100 will move downwardly.Conversely, when fluid pressure is selectively applied to the lowersurface of the piston 97 via the port 66, the piston 97 will slide toits uppermost position. When the element 100 is in raised position it isreceived within an annular recess in the shoulder 95, into which thebores 99 debouch.

Still referring to FIGURE 6, it is noted that the horn head 43 is alsoprovided with a second ring 102 positioned about a sleeve 103 threadablysecured to the horn head and having a reduced diameter. The ring 102 isadapted for vertical sliding movement with respect thereto. The ring 102is initially positioned in raised position (see FIG- URE 4), and held inplace by a shear pin 102a (shown in FIGURE 6 after it has been severed)so that downward movement by the ring 190 will shear the pin 102a andforce the ring 102 to move downwardly. A plurality of downwardlyextending connecting rods 104 are provided at spaced locations about thecircumference of the ring 102. The connecting rods 104 extend throughbores 105 formed in an outwardly protruding annular shoulder 106 formedbelow the reduced diameter portion 103 of the horn head 43, thuspermitting the rods 104 to slide vertically within the bores 105. Acamming element 107, which may be a ring or fingers, is provided on thelower end of each of the piston rods 104 for camming a plurality oflatching dogs 108 in the radial inward direction to firmly lock anelement, such as a fiowline head 57 having a dog-receiving recess orgroove 59, inside the horn head 43 upon downward movement of the rods104. The horn head 43 is also provided with one or two rows ofresiliently expandable annular split-ring retaining elements 109 whichare adapted to cooperate with the outer surface of the flowline head 57by closing resiliently inwards into external grooves formed in saidhead, to insure that once the latter has been pulled a certain distanceinto the horn head 43 it cannot thereafter move in the downwarddirection.

Referring to FIGURE 3 in conjunction with FIGURES 1 and 2, there isshown a wire line or drawline pulling tool 110 having an outer diametersufficiently small to allow passage of the tool 110 through the runningstring 19. The wire line pulling tool 110 comprises a main housing 111which is provided with an external circumferential seating shoulder 112.Below the seating shoulder 112, the housing 111 comprises a reduceddiameter portion 113 having a plurality of radial slots formed therein.These radial slots are adapted to slidably receive segmental lockingdogs 114. The housing 111 defines an internal cavity 115 which has anopening at the top thereof for slidably receiving a rod member 116. Anexternal shoulder 117 is formed on the lower end of the rod member 116and is provided with an upper fiat seat 118 and a downwardly andinwardly beveled camming surface 119 formed on its lower side. A coilspring 123 is seated on an annular land 124- within the housing 111 andis biased against the flat seat 118 of the shoulder 117 to normallyforce the rod member 116 downwardly and thereby force the segmental dogs114 outwardly into locking positions against the horn head 43.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, the seating shoulder 112 formed on the wireline pulling tool 110 is adapted to engage an annular inwardly directedlanding surface 125 formed in the horn head 43. The wire line pullingtool 110 is constructed to mate with the landing surface 125 of hornhead 43 in a manner such that when the seating shoulder 112 of thepulling tool 110 engages the landing surface 125, and when the dogs 114are biased into their outer locking position, the tool 110 is firmlylocked within the head.

The upper end of rod member 116 comprises an enlarged head 126 which isprovided with a circumferential locking groove 127 which is adapted forlocking engagement with the jaws of a conventional wire line fishingtool such as shown at 128 in FIGURE 2. Thus, as will be readilyunderstood, when the jaws of the fishing tool 128 lock within the groove127 of the enlarged fishing head 126, the application of a pulling forcethrough a wire line such as shown at 129 will overcome the resistance ofthe coil spring 123 whereby the shoulder 117 of the rod member 116 willmove upwardly allowing locking dogs 114 to be cammed radially inwardlyso that the entire tool 110 may freely pass upwardly beyond the shoulder125 of horn head 43.

As shown in FIGURE 3, a set screw 131 is threadably received in thelower portion of a countersunk bore 132 extending longitudinally throughthe enlarged fishing head 126 at an off-centered peripheral locationthereof. The set screw 131 may be threaded through the lower end of thebore 132 to drive the enlarged fishing head 126 and consequently the rodmember 116 upwardly thereby overcoming the spring force exerted by coilspring 123 and allowing the locking dogs 114 to move radially inwardly.As will be more fully understood infra, the set screw 131 provides aneasily operable mechanical means for cocking the tool in its non-lockingposition such that it may be inserted within the horn head 43, afterwhich the set screw may be unscrewed to allow the rod member 116 to movedownwardly under the force of the coil spring 123 thereby forcing thelocking dogs 114 radially outwardly 7 so that the tool 110 is firmlylocked about the landing shoulder 125 of the horn head 43.

As best shown in FIGURE 1, the lead end of a wire line or drawline cable135 is suitably attached to the bottom end of the drawline pulling tool110. In FIGURES 1 and 2, the wire line pulling tool 110 is shownpositioned in the horn head 43 and the wire line 135 which is connectedthereto, has been passed through the curved horn 44 and extends upwardlythrough the water 11 to the fiowline lay barge 55. At the lay barge 55the trailing end of the drawline 135 is connected to a speciallyconstructed fiowline installation tool 237 which is adapted toreleasably lock inside a lead section of fiowline 56 positioned on thebarge 55, which lead section of fiowline 56 is provided with thespecially constructed fiowline head 57.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, the fiowline pulling tool 237 is shown lockedinside the fiowline head 57 after a pulling force has been appliedthrough the cable 135 to pull the tool 237 and a long length of fiowlinesections 56 from the lay barge 55 down to the ocean floor and up throughthe curved horn 44 to the horn head 43. At this point it should be notedthat the horn or alignment tube 44 is provided with an enlarged, flaredmouth 45 to facilitate an easy entry of the tool 237 and fiowline head57 into the tube.

The specific details of the fiowline installation tool 237 will now bedescribed with reference to FIGURES 8 and 9. In FIGURE 8, the fiowlineinstallation tool 237 is shown enlarged and in the same position as thatdepicted in FIGURE 4. The tool 237 has a tubular main body member orhousing 238 of external diameter closely approaching the internaldiameter of the fiowline head 57, but sufficiently smaller than saidinternal diameter to slide into the end.

A threadedly separable, two-part drawline socket member 239 is providedon the upper end of the housing 238 having the drawline or cable 135fixedly secured therein. The lower end of the socket member 232 isprovided with a hemispherical enlargement 240 which is retained forlimited universal pivotal movement by a retaining sleeve 241 threadablyreceived on the upper end of the housing 238.

The lower end of the housing 238 threadably receives a plug 243 whichhas a cylindrical internal cavity 244 for receiving and seating acompressed coil spring 245. A slidable sleeve 246 is positioned withinthe housing 238 and is provided on its lower end with an internalseating compartment 247 for the upper portion of the coil spring 245.The major portion of the sleeve 246 has an external diameter slightlysmaller than the internal diameter of the housing 238 so that the sleeveis free to slide longitudinally within the housing.

As shown in FIGURE 8, the mid-portion of the sleeve 246 is provided witha first plurality of circumferentially spaced slots 248. The slots 248are adapted to receive a plurality (preferably three or four) of radialalignment pins 249 which are threadably engaged in the housing 238. Thealignment pins 249 penetrate through the slots 248 and extend into aplurality of radial bores 255 formed at circumferentially spacedlocations in the lower end of a spring-fingered collet 252 which issecured inside a second internal compartment 253 of the sleeve 246. Aswill be readily understood, the slots 248 permit the sleeve 246 to slidelongitudinally while the collet 252 is secured against eitherlongitudinal or rotational movement with respect to the housing 238.

The collet 252 is provided with a plurality (preferably four) of springfingers 254 which urge the enlarged, disclike rear faces 255 of aplurality of actuating buttons 256 in the radial outward direction. Thebuttons 255 penetrate outwardly, through housing bores 257, beyond theexterior of the housing 238. An annular stop shoulder 260 is formed onthe buttons 256 in order to limit the extent of their outward travel.Immediately behind the said shoulder 260, and between the shoulder andthe disc-like faces 255,

8 each of the buttons is provided with a reduced diameter neck 262.

Reverting to the sleeve member 246 and with reference to FIGURES 8 and9, it should be noted that the extreme upper end of the sleeve isprovided with a second plurality of vertical slots 264 which terminatein open-ended notches 265. The notches 265 (see FIGURE 9) are preferablysemi-circular in shape for matingly receiving the said disc-like rearfaces 255 of the buttons 256 when the latter are in their normaloutwardly biased position under the action of the spring fingers 254.The slots 264 are slightly larger than the neck portions 262. Thus, whenan external force is applied to the outer noses of all of the buttons256, the buttons will move radially inward, overcoming the outward biasof the spring fingers 254 and freeing the disc-like rear faces 255 fromengagement with the notches 265. At this point the compressed coilspring 245 is freed to move the entire sleeve 246 upwardly; the slots264 now being free to slide about the reduced diameter neck portions 262of the buttons 256. Upward movement of the sleeve 246 continues untilthe sleeve comes into contact with a seating block 266 which is held inplace in the upper end of housing 238 by the retaining sleeve 241.

Referring now to FIGURE-S 4 and 8, the inner surface of the fiowlinehead 57 is provided with an annular groove 58 which is adapted toreceive a plurality of locking dogs 267 circumferentially spaced aboutthe lower end of the fiowline installation tool 237 and slidable inindividual slots of the housing 238. The locking dogs 267 of thefiowline installation tool 237 are normally forced outwardly by theslidable sleeve 246 (FIGURE 8) to insure that the tool 237 remainssecurely locked inside the flowline head 57. As shown in FIGURE 4, thebuttons 256 are located outside the upper end of the fiowline head 57when the tool 237 is locked therein via the dogs 267. The buttons 256are positioned on the upper end of the tool 237 in a manner such thatthey will be forced radially inwardly when the tool 237 is pulledupwardly, via drawline 135, into contact with the anular shoulderlocated on the inner surface of the horn head 43. As described supra,the buttons 256 are interconnected with the locking dogs 267 by thesleeve mechanism 246 located inside the body of the tool 237 such thatwhen the buttons 256 are moved inwardly by contact with the shoulder125, the dogs 267 are also free to move radially inwardly. Thus, thetool 237 becomes unlatched from the inside of the fiowline head 57 andis free to move upwardly through the running string 19 to the barge 12where it may be recovered.

As also shown in FIGURE 4, the latching dogs 108 on the horn head 43 arenot engaged with the external circumferential groove 59 of the fiowlinehead 57 when the fiowline pulling tool 237 is released from inside theflowline head 57 and recovered at the surface. However, the expandablesplit-ring retaining elements 109 at the lower end of the horn head 43have at that time engaged with the specially constructed lower end ofthe fiowline head 57 and prevent the latter from moving downwardly outof the horn head 43.

One of the most important functions of the horn head latching dogs 108is to efiect a final accurate alignment of the fiowline head 57 withinthe horn head 43. This highly critical alignment function is necessaryto ultimately insure a proper connection between the fiowline head 57and the jumper tubes (not shown) used to connect the flow line 56 withthe wellhead 23. As best shown in FIGURE 6, the latching dogs 108 havespecially constructed camming noses which cooperate with the externalgroove 59 of the fiowline head 57 so that as the dogs 108 are forcedinwardly the fiowline head 57 is moved upwardly into a final, accuratelyaligned position within the horn head 43.

In order to actuate the horn head latching dogs 108 a dart 150, shown inFIGURE 5, is dropped or pumped down the runing string 19 until aplurality (preferably four) of outwardly projecting shoulders 142,formed at circumferentially spaced locations on the upper end of thedart, seat on the landing surface 69 of the bore 62. As shown in FIGURE5, the dart 150 comprises a hollow, open-bottomed, generally cylindricalmain body member 154 which is provided With an external circumferentialO-ring seal 156, formed on a shoulder 158 on its lower end, forsealingly engaging the inner wall of the bore 62 at a location betweenthe ports 65 and 66. After the shoulders 152 of the dart 150 seat on thelanding shoulder 69, fluid pressure in the running strong 19 istransmitted downwardly through an annular space 160 between the bore 62and dart 150, and through the port 65 to the top of the piston ring 97.As the piston 97 begins to move downwardly under the said fluidpressure, the fluid below the piston is exhausted into the bore 62 viathe port 66.

Downward movement of the piston 97 forces the ring 100 into engagementwith the ring 102, initially positioned in its upper position on thehorn head 43. Continue-d ap plication of fluid pressure causes the shearpin 102a to break, whereby the camming fingers 107 move downwardly fromthe position shown in FIGURE 4 to cam the horn head latching dogs 168into engagement with groove 59 of the flowline head 57. This lattermovement serves to drive the flowline head 57 upwardly into a veryaccurately aligned position inside the reduced diameter portion 103 ofthe horn head 43. The dart 150 may now be retrieved upwardly through therunning string 19 by lowering a wire line fishing tool, similar to thetool shown at 128 in FIG- URE 2, which will latch onto the fishing head162 formed on the upper end of the dart 150.

After the flowline head 57 has been installed in an accurately centeredand aligned position within the horn head 43, the entire running stringassembly, including the running string 19 and the running stringlatching tool 39, may be retrieved. This retrieval operation is carriedout by dropping or pumping the dart 170, shown in FIGURE 7, down therunning string 19 until the annular external shoulder 172 formed on thelowermost end of the dart seats on the landing surface 69 of the bore62. The shoulder 172 is provided with an external circumferential O-ring173 for sealingly engaging the inner wall of the bore 62 to preventfluid flow downwardly past the shoulder 172.

The dart 170 comprises a hollow, open-bottomed cylindrical main bodymember 174, having two additional ex; ternal O-rings 176 and 178positioned so as to seal offxor isolate the port 63 from communicationwith fluid in the bore 62. An annular space 179 is defined between therings 176 and 178 so as to be in communication with the port 63 when thedart 170 is seated on the landing surface 69. A horizontal bore 181(shown in dotted lines) permits fluid communication between the space179 and the hollow interior of the dart body 174. A longitudinal bore180 extends downwardly from the upper surface of the dart 170 (in adifferent circumferential position from the horizontal bore 181) andcommunicates with an annular space 182 defined by the O-rings 173 and176. The space 182 is formed on the dart 176 in a manner such that whenthe dart is seated on the landing surface 69, the space 182 communicateswith the port 64 formed in the body member 61 of the running stringlatching tool 39.

Thus, continued application of fluid pressure through the running string19 will force fluid down the dart bore 181) and out through the port 64to force the internal piston 73 upwardly. As the piston 73 movesupwardly, fluid in the space 75 is exhausted through the port 63, thespace 179 and the dart bore 181. As best shown in FIGURE 6, upwardmovement of the piston 73 causes the camming surface 91 on the lower endof the sleeve 72 to disengage the running string latching dogs 42. Thedogs 42 are now free to move radially outwardly out of engagement withthe horn head 43 upon the application of a pulling force to the runningstring 19. The dart 176 16 may either be retrieved by a wire linefishing tool, such as shown in FIGURE 2 at 128, or allowed to remain inposition for recovery when the entire running string latching tool 39 ispulled to the surface as will be described infra.

Referring now to FIGURE 10, the apparatus is shown just after theapplication of an upward pulling force from the barge 12 has beentransmitted through the running string 19 and guide frame 35 to causethe running string latching tool 39 to move upwardly out of engagementwith the horn head 43. The dogs 49 on locking plunger 47 insure that thehorn or alignment tube 44 resists any tendency to move upwardly with therunning string apparatus. As shown, the horn 44, having the flowline 56securely and accurately aligned therein, remains securely seated in thereceiving block 46. It should also be noted that the breakaway coupling54, on the actuating line 53 has become disengaged from the lockingmember 47 due to the upward pull transmitted through the running string19, Thus, the entire running string apparatus including the guide frame35, etc., may be pulled to the water surface and recovered at the barge12.

Operation The overall operation of lowering both a flowline and flowlinereceiving apparatus to the ocean floor and accurately aligning theflowline head in a predetermined vertical position at an underwaterinstallation will now be described.

Initially, the guide frame 35 is located above the surface of the waterat the vessel 12, and the running string 19 is rigidly secured theretoin such a manner that a portion of the running string extends downwardlythrough the frame 35 for receiving the running string latching tool 39.The running string latching tool 39 is then attached to thelast-mentioned portion of the running string 19 as by the threadedconnection 66, best shown in FIGURE 6.

Referring to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, the operation continues with thethreading of the cable 135 through curved horn 44. Thereafter, the cableor drawline pulling tool is attached to the leading end of the drawlineor cable 135 in any suitable manner. The drawline pulling tool 110 isthen cocked by operating the set screw 131 so that the segmental lockingdogs 114 may move to their innermost position. The drawline pulling tool110 is inserted into the horn head 43 and the set screw 131 is thenunscrewed to allow the rod member 116 to move downwardly and therebyforce the locking dogs 114 radially outwardly to lock the tool 110 aboutthe internal shoulder formed in the upper end of the horn head 43 (seeFIGURE 2).

The curved horn or alignment tube 44 is then attached to the lower endof the running string latching tool 39 in the following manner. With therunning string latching dogs 42 in a retracted position the horn head 43is inserted into the lower end of the tool 39 until it properly seatstherein. A dart or plug member (not shown) is then inserted through theupper end of the running string latching tool 39 to seal oil the bore 62at a point just below the port 63. Fluid pressure is then applied downthrough the running string 19 and is transmitted through the port 63 tomove the sleeve 72 downwardly and thereby force the latching dogs 42inwardly to securely lock the horn head 43 inside the running stringlatching tool 39 (see FIGURE 6). This phase of the operation iscompleted with the recovery of the aforementioned dart or plug from therunning string latching tool bore 62.

The long cable or drawline 135, protruding from the flared mouth 45 ofthe horn 44 is then run from the barge 12 over to the flowline lay barge55. At the lay barge 55 the flowline installation tool 237 is attachedto the terminal end of the cable and the tool 237 is inserted inside thespecially constructed flowline head 57 (see FIG- URE 1).

The guide frame 35 having the running string apparatus and the horn oralignment tube 4-4 attached thereto is then lowered from the barge 12down towards the underwater installation 23, as shown in FIGURE 1. Asthe guide frame 35 appraches the underwater installation 23 the guidecones 36 cooperate with the guide posts 26 and 27 to insure properalignment of the horn or alignment tube 44 with respect to the seatingblock 46. The horn 44 then seats in the seating block 46 and is securelylocked thereto by means of the dogs 4-9 carried by the locking plunger47.

The procedure of pulling flowline from the lay barge 55 and into thesubmerged horn 44 is initiated by pumping or otherwise lowering a wireline fishing tool 128 down through the running string 19 into lockingengagement with the fishing head 126 formed on the top end of thedrawline pulling tool 110. The application of a pulling force to thewire line 129 raises the member 116, which allows the dogs 114 to moveradially inwardly and there by frees the drawline pulling tool 110 forupward movement through the running string 19. As the drawline pullingtool 110 moves up through the running string 19, pulling the drawline13S therewith, the flowline installation tool 237 (locked inside theflowline head 57) pulls the flowline 56 off of the barge 55 and downtowards the underwater installation 23.

The flowline installation tool 237 and the tlowline head 57 lockedthereto enter the flared mouth 45 of the horn 44 and are pulled upwardlyinto the horn head 43 to the vertical position shown in FIGURE 4. Itshould be noted that the section of the flowline 56 immediately behindthe flowline head 57 is plastically deformed to follow the curvature ofthe horn 44 as it moves through the horn from a horizontal to a verticalposition. As the flowline head 57 enters the horn head 43 the expandablesplitring retaining elements 109 expand and again contract to grip theflowline head and prevent the latter from moving downward. Shortlythereafter, the buttons 256 on the fiowline installation tool 237 areforced inwardly by the annular shoulder 125 formed internally at theupper end of the horn head 43. The inward movement of the buttons 256frees the dogs 267 for inward movement, thus allowing the flowlineinstallation tool 237 to move out of the fiowline head 57 and be pulledup through the running string 19 to the barge 12.

The next step in the operation involves finally aligning and securelylocking the ftowline head 57 inside the horn head 43 by forcing the dogs163 radially inwardly from the position shown in FIGURE 4 to theposition shown in FIGURE 6. This phase of the operation involvesdropping or pumping the dart 150 down the running string 19 to theposition shown in FIGURE 5. Fluid pressure is then applied through therunning string 19 and this is transmitted through the port 65 to thepiston 97, forcing it downwardly until the pressure applied on ring 192causes the shear pin 192a to fracture. This forces the camming ring orfingers 107 downward and forces the dogs 168 into locking engagementwith the flowline head 57. The dart 156 is then fished from the runningstring 19 and recovered at the barge 12. The flowline head 57 is nowaccurately aligned in a predetermined vertical position with respect tothe underwater installation 23.

The final operation of recovering the guide frame and attendant runningstring apparatus begins with the pumping of the dart 170 down therunning string 19 to the location shown in FIGURE 7. Fluid pressure isthen applied through the running string and out through the port 64 todrive the sleeve 72 upwardly and thereby free the running stringlatching dogs 4-2 for outward movement, A pulling force is then appliedto the running string 19 at the barge 12 to remove the entire runningstring apparatus including the guide frame 35, from the underwaterinstallation 23 up to the barge 12 (see FlGURE 10,)

We claim as our invention:

1. Apparatus for remotely installing a fiowline at an underwaterfacility comprising:

(a) an underwater facility anchored on the ocean floor;

(b) alignment means operativcly associated with the facility and adaptedto engage a fiowline;

(c) flexible drawline means engageable with said alignment means andhaving a first end adapted to be secured to a source of tension and asecond end adapted to be coaxially secured to a coaxial flowline;

(d) said second end of the drawline including a housing having a firstend provided with fiowline engaging means, said engaging means beingmovable out of engagement with the end of a fiowline; and

(e) said housing having actuating means operably engageable with saidengaging means to release said flowline-engaging means from engagementwith the end of a flowline.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 further including means provided atsaid alignment means for activating said actuating means.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second end of said housinghas a drawline receiving socket pivotally secured thereon.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said flowline engaging meanscomprise a plurality of elements disposed in an annular ring so as to beengageable with the inner wall of the fiowline.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said actuating means furthercomprises:

(a) a plurality of button members slidably received in apertures formedin the wall of said housing;

(b) movable means normally biasing said button members outwardly beyondthe radial extent of said housing; and

(c) means responsive to the radial position of said buttons for normallyretaining said flowline engaging means engaged to the said flowline andfor releasing said flowline engaging means from the flowline upon radialmovement of said buttons.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the means set forth in (c)thereof includes a slidable sleeve received in said housing and adaptedto normally cooperate with said button members to force said fiowlineengaging means into engagement with said flowline.

7. Apparatus for remotely installing a fiowline at an underwaterfacility comprising:

(a) an underwater facility anchored to the ocean flood;

(b) an alignment tube operatively associated with the facility andadapted to receive a flowline;

(c) flexible drawiine means extending through the tube having a firstend adapted to be secured to a source of tension and a second endadapted to be secured to a fiowline;

(d) said second end of the drawline including a housing having a firstend provided with a plurality of fiowline engaging elements, saidelements being movable into and out of engagement with the end of aflowline;

(e) said housing having a second end provided with actuating meansoperable to release said flowline engaging elements from engagement withthe end of a flowline.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,233,667 2/1966 Van Winkle166-.6 3,260,270 7/1966 Watkins et al. 166.5 X 3,229,950 1/1967 Shattol66-.5 3,398,881 3/1967 Chan et al 166-.6

CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner,

R. E. FAVREAU, Assistant Examiner.

